Polling ends in Madhya Pradesh with 45 percent turnout

Bhopal, Nov 27 (IANS) Polling to elect a 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly concluded Thursday evening with about 45 percent voters turning up to cast their ballot amid tight security and sporadic incidents of violence. The elections were held when the state, like several others, was put on high alert in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. Security was beefed up, and forces deployed in strength to ensure smooth polling.

Election officials said the voters included 42 percent women and 48 percent men. Balloting remained sluggish throughout the day and the turnout was only 31 percent after the first six hours of voting and picked up later in the day only marginally.

Voting was disrupted in polling stations in over half a dozen constituencies after electronic voting machines were damaged, and there were stray incidents of skirmishes between supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress.